


The Lock and Key

by Kyuubiluver342



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 05:12:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18243053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyuubiluver342/pseuds/Kyuubiluver342
Summary: Ryuji gets a mysterious letter with a single key. This letter and key are somehow connected to his father? Ryuji isn't sure, but he is not about to let that bastard ruin his life again. (Takes place after Kamoshida.)





	The Lock and Key

 

Ryuji stretched and sighed as his back popped loudly. Beside him, Akira smiled and Ann huffed.

“That’s disgusting.” she muttered, crossing her arms.

“Lighten up! I actually went to class today and my back is killing me from those stupid seats.” Ryuji pouted, rubbing his back.

“Well, maybe if you did it more often, you wouldn’t have those problems.” Ann muttered, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Hey!” Ryuji snarled.

“Lady Ann is right, Ryuji. If you went more often, you might even learn a thing or two.” Morgana said, peeking out of Akira’s backpack.

“Hey, stay out of this, cat!” Ryuji snapped.

“Don’t yell at Morgana that way, Ryuji!” Ann replied hotly.

Akira just held out his hands as the two started to argue. An older man in a uniform moved closer to them suddenly, a letter in hand.

“Excuse me, but are you Ryuji? Ryuji Sakamoto?” a man asked.

“Uh yeah?” Ryuji replied confused.

“I apologize, but I was asked to give you this?” the man said confused.

The man held out a letter and Ryuji frowned before taking it. His name was written across it, but it didn’t have his address nor even a return address on it. With a small bow, the man walked off and they all stared after him.

“Well, that’s weird.” Ann muttered.

“Open it! I want to see what it says.” Morgana demanded.

“Pushy cat. It’s kind of heavy for a letter actually.” Ryuji muttered.

He tore it open and pulled out a letter. A key also happened to fall out. Ann picked up the key and looked it over.

“It looks like a safety deposit box key.” Ann said holding it up.

“That’s odd.” Morgana stated, suddenly bored.

Ryuji said nothing. His eyes were trained on the letter. His face was strained and he looked deeply upset.

“Ryuji?” Ann asked softly.

“He’s dead.” Ryuji replied.

“Huh? Who?” Morgana asked startled.

“My dad. He’s dead.” Ryuji replied.

Akira stared at him, Ann covered her mouth and Morgana’s mouth dropped open. Ryuji started to shake and he soon crumbled the note in his hand before storming off. They followed him, worried what he might do next. Ryuji walked into an alley and before anyone could say anything, his bag hit the wall across the way with a solid thud. 

“GOD DAMNIT!” Ryuji roared.

He punched a wall before kicking a trash can over.

“Ryuji! You have to stop!” Ann said.

He whirled on her and stormed up to her getting right in her face.

“Shut your fucking whore mouth, Ann!” he hissed.

“Ryuji! Don’t talk to Lady Ann that way!” Morgana yelled.

“One more word, cat, and I will strangle you with my bare hands! All of you fuck off!” he yelled before turning away.

Akira gently pushed Ann off to the side before placing his bag on the ground. Ryuji continued to destroy the alley, kicking garbage cans and throwing his bag around, punching walls and screaming curse words at the top of his lungs.

“Akira, you need to stop him.” Ann said fearfully.

Akira ducked as Ryuji’s bag went sailing at his head before moving closer.

“No! Stay the fuck away from me!” Ryuji yelled, backing deeper and deeper into the alley.

Tears were rolling down his face, cheeks flushed with rage and pain. Akira jumped out of the way as Ryuji kicked a trash can his way before finally cornering him. Ryuji was shaking, his emotions on full display before his back hit the wall and he slid down. A choked sob escaped him as he covered his face.

“I can’t believe he’s dead. That bastard.” Ryuji cried.

Ann grabbed Akira’s bag and moved closer. Akira knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I thought you said your dad left?” Ann asked confused.

“He did. He was a real shitbag, used to beat up on my mom all the time, but...I didn’t want him dead.” Ryuji choked.

Akira gently squeezed his shoulder and Ryuji looked at him before looking away.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, but I just…” Ryuji threw up his hands as he trailed off.

“You were upset.” Ann said softly.

He looked at her and looked away, ashamed.

“I’m so sorry, Ann. I really didn’t mean what I said to you.” he said and she smiled.

Akira nodded his head and leaned back. Ryuji curled up a bit, arms wrapped around his legs.

“I always thought...that I might see him again when I got older. Talk to him and find out why he was such a scumbag to us.” Ryuji muttered.

He wiped his tears with the back of his hands.

“What does the letter say?” Morgana asked.

Ryuji opened his hand and tried to sooth it out some.

“It’s from his side of the family.” Ryuji muttered handing it to Akira.

The letter, as far as Akira could tell, didn’t actually say much. It just said that his father had passed away a few days before and that the funeral had already happened. The key was to an safety deposit box that his father had, but the family wasn’t sure what was inside it and didn’t care enough to go look themselves. Ann and Akira shared a look, no wonder Ryuji had gone ape-shit.

“I never heard from his side of the family again after he left. Never got a card or a call. But this? I didn’t expect them to be this cold hearted.” Ryuji muttered.

“That’s really cruel.” Ann said standing up.

“What do you want to do now?” Morgana asked.

Ryuji sat there for a while before sighing.

“I don’t know if I even want to talk to Mom about him. She is finally healing after everything he did. I don’t want to open up old wounds.” Ryuji explained.

“Maybe we can go check it out ourselves?” Morgana asked.

“What do you mean?” Ann asked.

“Well, check to see if it is even worth getting her upset about. If it is, you can tell her. If not, you throw it all away and move on with your life.” Morgana pointed out.

“That’s a good idea.” Ann stated.

“Of course it is. I came up with it after all.” Morgana said pleased.

“Can I see the key?” Morgana asked.

Ann knelt down and showed it to him.

“Hm, good, there’s a tag on here saying where it is.” Morgana said.

“It’s actually pretty close by. I recognize the bank name.” Ann stated.

Ryuji got to his feet and looked around. They cleaned up the alley a bit before heading out. After getting on the train, they all sat quietly, lost in thought. At the next station, they got off. The sky was dark outside, clearly a storm was moving in. Ann complained that she had forgotten an umbrella.

“There.” Ann said pointing.

They walked over to the bank and went inside. Inside, an older woman sat behind a desk covered in photos, her desk plate said “Satomi Ichihara”. When she saw them, she gave a little sniff as she adjusted her necklace. Akira noted it looked like it was worth quite a bit.

“Can I help you?” she asked politely, if not stand-offish.

“I’m here to look at a safety deposit box.” Ryuji said handing her the key.

She eyed the key and gave a stiff nod of her head.

“Follow me.” she stated.

They were led to a room and told to wait there. As they waited, Akira got the funniest feeling. Five minutes went by, then ten and then twenty. Ann started to tap her foot, annoyed.

“You think she forgot about us?” Ryuji asked.

“No, it seems like she is purposely making us wait.” Ann stated.

The door opened then and Ichihara was back, but with another man. He sat down at the table and smiled as he put the box on the table.

“Good afternoon. I am the branch manager here, Toshiro Mifune. I understand you were interested in this safety deposit box?” he asked sweetly.

“Uh yeah. I got a letter from my dad telling me to come get it.” Ryuji said.

“Ah, well, that is quite interesting. Yes, interesting indeed.” Mifune said nodding.

Akira’s eyes narrowed as Ichihara locked the door.

“Look, is there a problem?” Ryuji asked hotly.

“Yes, you see, there is. I don’t know how you got it and I don’t know why, but you have some nerve coming back here, you little thief.” Mifune hissed.

“Excuse me? Thief?” Ann demanded.

“Yes, thief. You see, this box is empty. Has been for many years. After someone came in here with a fake key like your’s, stole the jewelry that was inside, worth two billion dollars in case you didn’t know, and escaped!” Mifune snarled, pointing his ringed finger in Ryuji’s face.

“The police are on their way.” Ichihara stated, arms crossed.

Akira’s eyes widened and he quickly got to his feet. Ichihara moved in to grab him and he dodged her, pushing her out of the way. Ann shoved the manager and Akira unlocked the door before all of them bolted. They could hear yelling from inside the room, but they ran down the hallway before stopping. They pushed open the door and tried to walk calmly towards the exit. In the main lobby, Akira grabbed Ryuji and Ann before pulling them towards the side.

“What are you doing? We need to go, dude!” Ryuji demanded.

Akira moved towards an umbrella holder and grabbed three before walking outside. It had started to rain and they dimly heard sirens in the distance. He put his up and started walking, Ann and Ryuji doing the same. The police drove right past them.

“That was close.” Ann breathed as they made it to the train station.

Ryuji moved to the side and slammed his fist into a wall. He scowled.

“A thief. My dad was a thief. What a shock.” he said sarcastically.

“Are we sure about that?” Morgana asked, popping his head out of Akira’s bag.

“What do you mean?” Ann asked.

“I’m not so sure. I mean, he seemed a little suspicious to me.” Morgana stated.

“Even so, he called the police. What are we going to do?” Ryuji muttered.

Akira hummed and looked around. Seeing a library nearby, he tapped Ann on the shoulder and pointed.

“Huh? You want to study? Now? Don’t you think we have bigger problems than exams right now?” Ryuji asked.

“Ryuji, please try to use your head. Akira is saying we should look into what the manager was saying. If he was telling the truth, there should be a newspaper article about it.” Morgana stated.

Akira nodded and Ryuji blinked.

“Oh, I guess that makes sense.” Ryuji muttered.

 

Twenty minutes later and Ryuji let out a loud groan.

“My head hurts.” he whimpered, laying his head down on the table.

“This is a lot more daunting than I realized.” Morgana muttered.

“It doesn’t help that we have no idea when it happened.” Ann said stretching.

Akira continued to look through the old newspaper articles before stopping. Morgana blinked and hopped onto his shoulder.

“You found it!” Morgana said as Akira puffed out his chest.

“Let’s see. April, yada yada, billions of dollars in jewelry stolen yikes, blah blah blah.” Ryuji read over his shoulder.

“Wait, there!” Ann pointed.

“No one is sure how the thief got in or out. All that was left behind was a fake key used to open the box.” Ryuji read.

He leaned back and crossed his arms.

“Wait a minute.” Ryuji muttered.

“What is it?” Ann asked.

“April? My dad was already long gone by the time April came around during that year.” Ryuji explained softly.

“He wasn’t even in town?” Ann asked.

“Nope. If I remember correctly, he was overseas.” Ryuji said rubbing the back of his neck.

“So then how did he get the key?” Morgana muttered.

Something was fishy and as Akira looked over more articles, he could tell something didn’t add up.

“The jewelry was never sold?” Morgana asked.

“Nope, the police never found it. Not a single piece.” Ann stated.

“Here’s a picture of the set.” Ryuji said.

They all stared at the picture before Akira pointed to a ring.

“Wait, I swear I have seen that before.” Ryuji stated.

“The manager! On his finger! And look! Here’s the necklace the clerk was wearing!” Ann said pointing to another piece.

“They must have stolen the pieces themselves!” Morgana gasped.

“But then why blame us?” Ann asked.

“Easy targets. A bunch of kids who don’t know any better. Plus we showed up with the real key.” Morgana said.

“Wait, real key?” Ryuji asked.

“Yeah, look at the fake one in the picture. It is missing the serial number. Our’s had it. So that must have been the real key. They must have  panicked when you showed up with it.” Morgana stated.

“That’s all well and good and all, but I don’t think the police are going to listen to us now. We did run from the scene.” Ann muttered nervously.

The group looked at each other. That was true. Morgana hummed.

“Wait, let’s check the Meta-nav.” Morgana stated.

“Huh? You think the bank is a Palace?” Ryuji asked.

“Why not? It’s worth a shot.” Ann muttered.

Akira pulled out his phone and the Nav cam to life.

“Bank, Ichihara, Mifune, Jewelry.” the Nav chirupped.

“Oh shit, it really is a Palace!” Ryuji stated.

“Ok, so we know the manager or the clerk are in charge. Now we just need to see what they see it as?” Ann asked.

“Well, let’s go through the normal words. Castle, palace, prison?” Ryuji asked.

The last word caused the Nav to beep and before long, they were standing before a huge prison with all the fixings. Barbed wire, tall walls, guards at every post. The group was quick to find some place to hide.

“Wow. They are really going all out with this one.” Ryuji, now Skull, muttered.

Morgana, now Mona, looked around and frowned.

“This is going to be a tough one. We are going to have to be super careful.” Mona explained.

Ann, now Panther, crossed her arms. She seemed nervous.

“Why a prison though?” she asked.

“Who knows. We’ll have to go in and see.” Mona stated.

Akira, now Joker, adjusted his gloves before they started to circle the building. Eventually, they managed to scale a wall and get inside from a window. Inside, they found an office. It was decorated gaudily and Panther winced.

“Has anyone here heard of an interior decorator?” she asked.

Ryuji snorted and covered his mouth. It was then they heard footsteps.

“Hide!” Mona hissed.

Every ducked for cover and before long, the doors opened. Mifune, the branch manager walked in. He wore an even gaudier prison warden uniform with gold details and a large riding crop in hand. His glowing yellow eyes took in the office with delight.

“Oh how wonderful! How marvelous! Truly a blessing for the eyes!” he said with a laugh.

Panther made a face and Skull had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Mona glared at him and he gave a small, nervous smile. Mifune walked over to the window and hummed before pulling it closed. He sat behind his large, obnoxious desk and grinned.

“Yes, yes, all this and more shall be mine! Those simpletons at the national office have no idea and now that I am in complete control of this branch, I’ll have riches beyond my wildest dreams!” he said with delight.

Joker frowned and looked at the others. It was clear to him that Mifune was stealing from the bank. The door opened again and the clerk from earlier came in. She wore a rather revealing prison guard uniform, including stockings, a garter belt and some sort of harness around her breasts.

“There you are! And my, don’t you look amazing!” Mifune said with a lustful sneer.

Ichihara giggled. Her eyes weren’t yellow, so that told them she was just a figment of his imagination.

“To think you turning me down all those years ago would led to this, hm?” he said as he pulled her onto his lap.

Skull covered his eyes and leaned in.

“Please do not tell me they are about to do the nasty right in front of us.” Skull whispered.

Joker winced and nodded. Skull whined and just went they thought it was about to start, the doors burst open and two shadows came in.

“Sir, we have an issue! Please, come quickly.” the shadows said.

Mifune scowled.

“Of course, just when things were getting interesting. This will have to wait, my dear.” he said pushing her to the floor.

She whined and tried to claw at his legs, but he just kicked her and walked away.

“Get out of my sight, you slut. I have more important things to worry about than you.” he demanded before leaving.

She raced after him, closing the doors behind them. Joker and the others crawled out of their hiding places and Skull rubbed his eyes.

“Thank god. I don’t think I could have handled it if things got steamy.” Skull said choking.

“We should leave here for now and try another way in. This route is too dangerous.” Mona explained.

They crawled back out the window and Joker closed it behind them. They started to search for another route, but as they passed by various windows, they could see inside. It was set up just like a prison and there were people in there, but many of them were hanging by their ankles, shaken up and down repeatedly as jewelry, cash and other valuables fell out of their pockets.

“I don’t get it.” Skull muttered.

“It’s simple. He sees the bank as a prison to everyone else and that he has a right to take whatever he wants because he’s in charge.” Mona explained.

“But what about him and the clerk?” Panther asked.

“Not sure yet. He’s definitely interested in her, but more as a prize than a partner. Maybe she wasn’t involved with the jewelry theft.” Mona explained.

They continued to circle the building before stopping. They had climbed rather high at this point and were looking in from a skylight. Down below, they saw Mifune standing before a huge statue of himself with Ichihara pressed against his side. Joker cracked the window a bit.

“Ah, isn’t it wonderful?” Mifune asked.

“It certainly is! Melting down all that cheap gold to create something amazing was a brilliant idea.” Ichihara cooed.

“Well, what do I need cheap gold for? No point in keeping it when I can have the real thing.” Mifune said with a huff.

“Now, if only I could have the real thing in the real world.” he scowled.

“But, you do have the real thing.” she whined.

Suddenly, he shoved her to the floor and she let out a cry. The back of her uniform was open and they could see the scars on his back. He raised his riding crop and began to beat her.

“Why must you infuriate me so much! Why, even after all these years, do you enrage me so! Every time I see your face, I can’t tell if I want to strangle you or kiss you!” he snarled as she cried in pain.

“Oh my god, what is wrong with him?” Panther hissed.

“I don’t care, let’s beat him to the ground and be done with it!” Skull said standing.

Mona quickly grabbed him and pulled him back down.

“Wait, just watch for now.” Mona demanded.

“He’s beating her!” Skull snapped.

“He’s also talking. Remember, she is just a figment of his imagination. He’s not actually hurting her in real life. But he is showing us who he really is.” Mona explained.

Joker nodded and looked back down. Mifune was done for now and Ichihara quickly crawled away to get away from him. He scuffed and turned away.

“Even after all these years, I can’t believe you are acting like the victim here. I was the one you ridiculed, the one you hurt, the one you abandoned. I gave you everything, my love, my hopes, my dreams and you dashed them as if they meant nothing. All because you ‘fell in love’ with some rich bastard.” he said with a sneer.

“I’m sorry.” she cried brokenly.

“You should be! I would have given you the world if you asked for it! Painted you like the goddesses in the temples! Worshipped you like a queen! Instead, you ignored me, pushed me away and even got a restraining order against me!” he snarled.

“I was wrong.” she begged.

“You were! And to think, I even gave you that necklace. What an absolute cow you’ve become.” he sneered.

“I can’t listen to this anymore.” Panther hissed.

“We need to pull back, gather some more intel and come back. There is more to this than just the jewelry.” Mona stated.

Joker nodded and they all left. Back in the real world, the sun was going down and the rain had stopped. Akira put his phone away and looked around. Ann looked pissed and Ryuji looked annoyed. Even Morgana looked a little angry.

“I can’t believe that guy! Treating her like some dog! Men make me sick!” Ann snarled.

Ryuji and Akira both gave her a look and she flushed.

“I mean, not you guys, but you know. Most men.” Ann said playing with her hair.

“No offense taken.” Ryuji waved her off and she smiled.

“We should all head home. Gather our barings and come back tomorrow.” Morgana explained.

With that, Akira’s phone rang. Looking down, he saw Sojiro’s ID pop up next to a text message. 

“Now, I am going to ask you one time and one time only. Why are the police at my door?” Sojiro texted.

Akira winced and looked at everyone.

“For real? This blows.” Ryuji muttered.

“What are you going to say?” Ann asked.

Akira frowned and texted back.

“I went to the bank with a friend earlier to help him. There was a misunderstanding. I’ll be back soon.” Akira replied.

“You better be. I told you already. If you messed up, you are out.” he replied.

“I promise, it’s a big misunderstanding.” Akira replied.

“What should we do? Should we go with you?” Ryuji asked.

Akira shook his head, but held out his hand.

“Huh?” Ryuji asked.

“He wants the key and letter.” Morgana figured out.

“Oh, here then.” Ryuji handed it over.

With a final nod, they all went to the station. The group was quiet as they went their separate ways. Akira walked to Cafe LeBlanc and stopped at the door, letting out a breath before entering. Two police officers stood there, talking to Sojiro.

“There he is. Now, let’s sit down and find out what is going on here.” Sojiro stated angrily.

Akira slid into a booth as the officers questioned him. The explanation was short and sweet: his friend had received a letter with a safety deposit key, both of which he handed over and they placed in an evidence bag. They went to the bank to see what was going on and got scared when they were accused of being thieves.

“Why didn’t you just stick around and talk to the officers?” the one officer asked.

Akira looked down and blushed, playing up the nervous student. He explained that after his last run in with police, he was scared of them (he exaggerated a bit, but it was still somewhat true) and he had panicked because his friends had panicked. They had planned on going to the police station to clear everything up right away, but got nervous. Sojiro still didn’t seem happy, but the other officer was sympathetic.

“You were scared, that’s understandable. You’re just a kid and you have been through a lot. Admittedly, the branch manager was a little over the top when we got there.” the officer replied.

“So, is he in trouble?” Sojiro asked.

“No, based on what we have so far, it was a misunderstanding and just a bunch of kids who reacted badly.” the kind officer said.

Sojiro let out a breath and Akira relaxed his shoulders. The officers said their final goodbyes and then left. Akira slowly looked at Sojiro and bowed his head.

“I guess I can let this one slide. You explained what happened and I get that you reacted badly. But don’t let it happen again. If the police show up here again, you are done, got it?” Sojiro said angrily.

Akira nodded and then went to his room. Morgana jumped out of his bag and sat on the desk.

“That was close, but at least that one officer understood.” Morgana stated.

Akira nodded before looking around.

“Admittedly we did lose our only clue, but it was worth it to stay out of jail.” Morgana said with a sigh.

“For right now, we’ll go back to the bank tomorrow and see if we can talk to the clerk. It might give us some insight on what is going on.” Morgana said as Akira nodded.

 

The next day, Akira and the group stood outside the bank. Ryuji and Ann hadn’t really wanted to return, but Morgana convinced them it was for the best. As they stood there, Ichihara stepped outside, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Seeing them, she huffed and stomped over, putting her smokes away.

“What are you ruffians doing here? I should call the police!” she snapped.

Ryuji scowled. Akira placed a hand on his arms and he relaxed just a bit.

“Listen lady, all of us were cleared by the police last night, no thanks to you and your boss.” Ryuji snapped.

She crossed her arms. She was on the defense now.

“I just did as I was told. I had no idea jewelry was even missing from the bank, but if the national office found out, we would most certainly be in trouble.” Ichihara said.

“Wait, how long have you worked here?” Ann asked.

“As if that is any of your business, but I only recently got hired. Mr. Mifune had been a god-send to me in these rough times.” Ichihara said touching her necklace.

“That’s a nice necklace you got there. Looks pretty expensive.” Ryuji stated.

She immediately clenched it tighter. As if he was going to reach out and rip it from her neck. Ryuji rolled his eyes.

“Mr. Mifune gave this necklace to me. He’s an amazingly kind man.” she stated.

“He just gave it to you? Seems extremely generous of him.” Ann asked.

“Yes, well, I work very hard for him. I am so blessed to have met him recently.” she replied angrily.

The group looked at each other.

“And you don’t know Mr. Mifune from anywhere else?” Ryuji pushed.

“Know him from somewhere else? Is this a joke? I have never met him before I started working here. Now, please leave. You are wasting my time.” she demanded.

“Ah before we go, just a quick question. How long have you been married?” Ann asked, eyeing the ring on her finger.

For the first time, Ichihara smiled and lightly touched her ring. It was small, but beautifully made.

“Twelve glorious years. We have two boys, seven and five.” she seemed to catch herself and glared at them.

They quickly left, not wanting the cops called on them. As they regrouped in a nearby alley, Morgana popped his head out.

“So what do you think?” he asked.

“Definitely something fishy.” Ryuji muttered rubbing his neck.

“I think it’s time we stopped back into his Palace. Maybe find something out there.” Morgana explained.

They switched over to the other world and started to sneak their way in. The security was even tighter than before and they had to stop and fight a few times to keep going.

“Wow, you think Ichihara said something to Mifune?” Skull asked after getting into a safe room.

“Most likely. He’s probably panicking because the police didn’t believe his story either.” Mona pointed out.

“You know, I wonder. Ichihara didn’t seem to know who Mifune was, but he definitely said he knew her from before.” Panther explained.

“Let’s try to get back to his office. Maybe it will tell us something.” Mona said.

They traveled to the office and slipped inside. Thankfully, it was empty. Walking up to the desk, Panther grabbed the plaque there.

“It says his name, but nothing else.” she held it up.

“Wait! Move it ever so slightly again.” Mona said.

“Huh? Why?” Skull asked.

Mona hopped up on the desk and held it in his hands. Moving it slightly, they watched the name change. The name they saw now was “Toma Ikuta”.

“Wow! What is that about?” Skull asked.

“It means he has two different names and he’s not sure which one to go by. He must have changed his name recently and his mind is still trying to catch up.” Mona replied.

Joker was looking along a bookshelf when he noticed an odd book. Pulling it out, they watched the wall open.

“Oh shit yeah! Secret passage!” Skull said with a cheer.

“Keep your voice down!” Mona hissed.

“Sorry.” Skull muttered.

“Could this lead to the treasure?” Panther asked.

“Maybe. It’s faint, but that could be just because it’s so far down. We should go explore.” Mona explained.

They continued into the passage, but there were no guards, no nothing. They soon find a small, dark room with the name “Toma Ikuta” over it. The door was locked, but with a lockpick, they were able to get inside. The room was filled with old junk, but also had pictures covering the walls.

“Is that Ichihara?” Skull asked.

She was much younger in the pictures and much more beautiful. They could see words around her pictures, but they were hard to make out.

“What is all this?” Panther asked.

“This is the original Mifune. This must be the place he threw all this old memories and and name away. These items are all connected to the old him, Toma.” Mona explained.

“Um what is this?” Skull poked something with his mace.

Looking down, everyone saw what looked to be a rubber human mask on the floor and stared.

“That’s it! That’s his old face! He must have gotten plastic surgery as well! That’s why Ichihara doesn’t know who he is!” Mona stated.

“For real? Let me get this straight. He changed his name and his face? For what?” Skull asked.

“Think about what he said before. Ichihara had a restraining order against him, which means he must have done something really bad in the past to her.” Mona finished.

“Great, another abusive, controlling asshole.” Skull muttered.

“And one we have to take down.” Panther said angrily.

“How do you figure?” Skull asked.

“Think about it. He’s gone through all this trouble to get close to Ichihara again and she has no idea. Plus he is stealing from the customers at the bank. If we don’t do something, she could be in danger.” Panther replied.

“Panther is right, as usual.” Mona said proudly.

“You’re right. We can’t let him go around stealing from people or abusing people.” Skull said pumped.

“First, we need to get closer to the treasure. Let’s go.” Mona replied.

They left the room, but quickly found themselves surrounded. Mifune stood in front, rage clear on his face.

“I don’t know how you all got in here, but I am not letting you leave this place! Not after everything you have seen!” he snarled.

“RUN!” Mona yelled.

They bolted the opposite way. Behind them, they could hear the shadows chasing them. Joker saw another door and threw his shoulder into it, forcing it open. They all ducked inside and the mob ran past. Joker peeked out after a few minutes and sighed.

“Security is going to be crazy tight now. We might have to leave for the day.” Mona said annoyed.

“I’m not sure we can get out without being spotted.” Panther stated.

“We need to leave anyway. We have to send out the calling card.” Mona explained.

“Huh? Why? We haven’t found the treasure yet.” Skull asked.

“Actually, we just did.” Mona said.

Turning around, they found a filing room. Everyone just looked at Mona.

“Think about it, what do prisons and banks have in common? Paperwork! And I can feel that the treasure is in this room.” Mona explained drooling.

Joker looked around, it was a huge room filled with cabinets and drawers. Admittedly it did make some sense that it would be in here. Who would ever think it was in here? He started forward and turned the corner. It was like a maze and soon enough they found the end. It was another shapeless blob and Mona nodded.

“Now, we are ready.” he said.

They managed to sneak out with some difficulty. The place was swarming with shadows, but in the end, they made it out without setting off the alarm.

“That was close.” Ryuji muttered as he rolled his neck.

“Too close. Going back, we will have to be more careful.” Morgana stated.

“So calling card time?” Ryuji asked excitedly.

“I suppose so.” Ann muttered.

He gave a fist pump and Akira smiled. It was nice to see Ryuji so happy.

“I’ll send it out tomorrow.” Ryuji said.

“Good idea. Tomorrow night, we strike.” Morgana schemed.

 

The next day, Ryuji, Morgana, Akira and Ann stood outside the bank, watching. Ryuji was grinning to himself, though he was leaning forward, hands covering his mouth.

“I’m curious. How did you send the calling card?” Morgana asked.

“Just watch.” he replied.

They watched as the manager came out of the bank, idly dusting off his suit. A man in a uniform, much like the one who had approached Ryuji, stopped him and spoke to him quickly before handing over a letter and walking away. Mifune looked utterly lost as he pulled out the card. As soon as he read what was on there, he paled and quickly shoved the letter into his jacket before storming back into the bank.

“Oh ho ho, good idea.” Morgana said.

“I paid that guy to drop off four cards. One to Mifune, one to Ichihara and then hand two envelopes full of them to the mail guy when he stopped by. No doubt Mifune is pissed right now.” Ryuji said smirking.

“And no doubt his treasure is up for grabs.” Ann stated.

Akira nodded as he drank his milkshake. All they had to do now was wait.

 

A few hours later, Joker slipped into Mifune’s prison and watched the shadows scramble down below. There were more than usual, but that was ok. A quick glance told him they were staying away from the office. They easily slipped inside before opening the bookcase. Joker made sure to close it behind them this time. They returned to the filing room and made it through the maze before finding a huge painting of Mifune and Ichihara in a heavenly scene. 

“It’s huge!” Skull stated.

Akira nodded, but together they managed to get it down and started to carry it out.

“We have it. Let’s go.” Mona stated.

They booked it out of the maze, but at the end, they found Mifune. When he saw the painting, he lost it. Screaming his rage, he transformed. He looked like a jail cell with jewels and coins inside. His eyes appeared as rubies, and his hands like claws.

“I will never let you have it, never!” he screamed.

“Let’s go, guys!” Skull yelled.

The fight was harsh, but in the end, Mifune lost. As he changed back to his normal self, he whimpered and covered his face. The group surrounded him and he shook his head.

“This isn’t what I wanted. This isn’t how it was supposed to work.” he whined.

“Then what did you want?” Skull demanded.

“I wanted her back! I just wanted her to love me again.” he replied.

“But she clearly didn’t. You said so yourself, she left. She moved on.” Panther stated.

“She moved on because he was rich and I was poor!” he snapped.

“You’re wrong.” Mona replied.

“And how would you know?” Mifune demanded.

“I saw her desk. Her desk was covered in pictures of her husband and kids. Even when she talked about them, you could hear how much she loved them.” Panther explained.

“You stole the money and jewelry, changed your appearance and hired her with the hopes she would see how wealthy you are and return to you. But you never saw how happy she was, you only cared about yourself.” Skull muttered.

“But I love her.” Mifune stated.

“But she doesn’t love you.” Skull replied.

He closed his eyes and with a flash of bright white light, disappeared. They were quick to book it out of the Palace as the walls came down around them.

“Good job team.” Morgana said as they returned to the real world. 

Anna looked down and pointed to something Akira was holding.

“Is that a locket?” Ann asked.

Akira grabbed it and looked it over. It looked expensive, but old. Inside he found a picture. It was of Ichihara on one side, another man on the other.

“Is that Mifune?” Ann asked.

“It has an inscription. ‘Love forever, Satomi’.” Morgana stated.

“I guess we just wait and see at this point.” Ann sighed.

 

Two days later, Akira looked up from where he was studying at the cafe and blinked. Morgana hit the volume on the TV.

“Breaking news, local branch manager confesses to stealing valuable jewelry.” the reporter started.

On the TV, he could see Mifune in handcuffs, being taken out of the bank. Behind him was Ichihara, hand over her mouth, necklace missing. Akira’s phone went off and he put it on video chat.

“Dude, are you watching the news right now?” Ryuji asked.

Akira nodded. Morgana puffed out his chest in pride.

“We did a great job, team. Definitely one for the history books.” Morgana laughed.

“But what about the letter? And the key?” Ann asked.

“I spoke to Mom about it. Dad is, apparently, alive and well.” Ryuji said quietly.

“How did he pick your name then?” Ann asked.

“Mom does have a bank account at that office and she did say she spoke to that manger recently. She had to get some documents changed and she said they talked for a while.” Ryuji explained.

“So he picked you at random.” Morgana muttered.

“That’s really cruel though. I am so sorry, Ryuji.” Ann said.

“I’m just sorry I didn’t know that beforehand, so I could deck him in the face. The prick.” Ryuji said hotly.

“Well, he definitely going away for a while.” Morgana said pleased.

“I wonder if Ichihara is ok. He confessed to who he really was and she seemed absolutely horrified.” Ann stated.

“That’s because he also confessed to stalking her for close to five years before even approaching her, then continuing to stalk her, even after she got a restraining order and moved away. Can you imagine how terrifying that must be?” Morgana muttered.

“That’s true.” Ryuji sighed.

“I’m just glad he’s gone. Hopefully everyone can move on with their life now.” Ryuji said.

They ended the call there, but Akira continued to watch the news as the night went on.


End file.
